In conventional connectors, a male connector 100 with an electric cable on one end, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), includes a knob portion 101 with male threads 101a and sliding grooves 101b formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof; and a retaining hardware 102, with engaging protruding portions 102b, having engaging hooks 102a at the tip end side thereof, that slide forward and backward in the sliding grooves 101b formed therein. Additionally, the retaining hardware 102 is biased towards the knob portion 101 by a coil spring that is attached there behind (See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2007-103046 (“JP '046”)).
Additionally, in a bayonet-type female connector with an electric cable on one end thereof, comprises: a knob portion, wherein engaging grooves are formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof is provided with guiding portions, for guiding engaging hooks 102a, and stopper portions for engaging the engaging hook 102a when attaching the male connector 100. When the male connector 100 is attached to this bayonet-type female connector, the operator holds the knob portion 101 of the male connector 100 and the knob portion of the female connector, and inserts the male connector 100 into the female connector to insert the engaging hooks 102a along the guide portions of the engaging grooves. Following this, the male connector 100 or the female connector is rotated in a specific direction to cause the engaging hooks 102a to engage with the stopper portions of the engaging grooves. Doing so makes it possible to electrically connect electric cables coaxially.
On the other hand, in the screw-type female connector with an electric cable on one end thereof, a knob portion is provided wherein female threads for screwing onto the male threads 101a are formed on the inner peripheral surface. When connecting the male connector 100 to this screw-type female connector, the operator holds the knob portion 101 of the male connector 100 and the knob portion of the female connector, and screws the male threads 101a together with the female threads. At this time, the engaging hooks 102a are moved towards the rear, while being biased by the coil spring 103, through the contact with the female threads. Doing so makes it possible to electrically connect electric cables coaxiaily.
In the conventional male connector as disclosed in JP '046, a coil spring 103 is necessary in order to bias the retaining hardware 102 towards the knob portion 101 side in order to connect to both the female connector of the screw-type and the bayonet-type. However, when the coil spring 103 is broken, problems may be caused by the inoperability of the coil spring due to the break, and thus there is a problem in that there are concerns that the connection with the connector might become impossible. Moreover, even if there is just corrosion that is not to the extent that the coil spring 103 breaks, still there are problems that may be caused due to the inoperable state of the coil spring 103 caused by the corrosion, and thus there are problems in that there are concerns that it may become impossible to connect the connector.
The present invention was created in order to solve the problem areas set forth above, and the object thereof is to provide a connector that can connect to both the bayonet type and the screw type, without the use of a coil spring.